1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a side bolster apparatus for an automobile seat and, more particularly, to a side bolster apparatus for an automobile seat, in which, when a folded seat back is unfolded from the seat, side bolster protrude from rear side of the seat back so as to surround the back of a passenger, thereby improving seating comfort.
2. Description of Related Art
In general, an automobile seat is made up of a seat cushion fixed to an automobile body so as to enable a passenger to sit thereon and a seat back rotatably installed on the seat cushion so as to serve as a backrest.
The seat back is equipped with bolster, which slightly protrudes from rear side of the seat back so as to surround the back of a passenger when the passenger takes the seat. In the case of rear seats for a recreational vehicle (RV), the rear seats employ sinking seats held in a floor of the RV, or double folding seats folded twice in order to simultaneously secure a passenger seating space and a cargo loading space in the rear of the RV. These rear seats have flat seat backs without the bolster in order to minimize a thickness when folded.
FIG. 1 illustrates an ordinary sinking seat, and FIG. 2 illustrates a folded double folding seat.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, a predetermined holding space 2 is formed in the floor 1 of an automobile body. A rear seat 10 can be held in the holding space 2 in a folded state.
When the rear seat 10 can be held in the holding space 2, no seat protrudes from the floor 1, so that the floor 1 can be used for a variety of purposes, for instance for loading a large quantity of cargo on the floor.
Further, as illustrated in FIG. 2, since a recent seat 20 has a double foldable structure, a rear cargo loading space 30 is increased when the seat 20 is doubly folded, so that a large quantity of cargo can be loaded in the rear cargo loading space 30.
However, as described above, in order to reduce the volume and thickness when the sinking seat 10 or the double folding seat 20 is folded, the front of the seat back is kept flat. Thus, the thickness of the seat is reduced when the seat is folded. However, while the automobile is cornering, the body of the passenger rolls from side to side in this configuration, so that the seating comfort is reduced.
However, when the bolster is formed on the seat back of the sinking seat or the double folding seat as in the related art, the thickness of the seat is increased when the seat is folded.
The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.